The present disclosure relates to a system for ensuring accuracy of printed labels for intravenous bags and for intravenous lines engaged with the intravenous bags.
In the healthcare industry, solutions, such as diluent solutions, such as saline solutions or dextrose solutions, or solutions including pharmaceutical compounds, such as compounded drugs, may be administered to a patient intravenously. A solution to be administered intravenously is packaged within an intravenous bag and dispensed to the patient through an intravenous line engaged with the intravenous bag.
Intravenous bags are typically labeled with information identifying a name of the solution, for example a name of the diluent or a name of the pharmaceutical compound in the solution. Color-coded labels, color-coded risk indicators, and TALLman letters are often used to assist healthcare professionals in quickly and accurately identifying the solution dispensed from each of the intravenous bags.
A patient may be simultaneously treated with multiple intravenously-delivered solutions. Each solution is delivered from an intravenous bag through a dedicated intravenous line. The intravenous lines engaged with the intravenous bags are often also labeled with the name of the solution to avoid confusion between lines from different bags, for example when changing intravenous bags or inspecting intravenous lines. However, the intravenous line labels are typically provided separately from the intravenous bag labels, which could lead to mislabeling of the intravenous line. Furthermore, the intravenous line label may block the labeled portion of the intravenous line, preventing a healthcare provider from noticing air bubbles, discoloration, blockages, or other abnormalities present in the labeled portion of the intravenous line.